Theological/philosophical/cultural/spiritual thoughts about God and the Real Jesus.

Friday, May 26, 2017

Secularism Rules in Western Churches

Duck family in my front yard

I am reading The Benedict Option: A Strategy for Christians in a Post-Christian Nation, by Rod Dreher.

Dreher says the culture wars are over, at least in the West. The sexual revolution and the technological revolution have won.

The American Church was not prepared for this. "The public square has been lost." (P. 9)

Most American churches have succumbed. C.S. Lewis referred to the secular world as "enemy-occupied territory." The enemy is now within the camp, ruling over hearts and minds. Most churches are not safe places for followers of Jesus. They are "mostly about improving one’s self-esteem and subjective happiness and getting along well with others." (P. 10)

Dreher writes:

"Not only have we lost the public square, but the supposed high ground of our churches is no safe place either... The changes that have overtaken the West in modern times have revolutionized everything, everything, even the church, which no longer forms souls but caters to selves. As conservative Anglican theologian Ephraim Radner has said, “There is no safe place in the world or in our churches within which to be a Christian. It is a new epoch.”" (P. 9)

"Don’t," warns Dreher, "be fooled by the large number of churches you see today... If the demographic trends continue, our churches will soon be empty."

(Ib.)

I am working on my book Leading the Presence-Driven Church. My concluding chapter is, "God's Presence Will Win the Day." I believe this. I'll argue for: 1) decolonization; and 2) return.

Dreher writes, "many of the churches that do stay open will have been hollowed out by a sneaky kind of secularism to the point where the “Christianity” taught there is devoid of power and life." (P. 10)